“We don’t exist to make this city the best city for bikers; we exist to make it a better city, period.” - Beaux Jones

The push to make Baton Rouge more bicycle-friendly has rallied some enthusiasm from local policy makers, but grassroots support has yet to sprout.

“The problem we face is trying to get people excited, trying to get them involved,” Bike Baton Rouge Chairman and Executive Director Beaux Jones said Tuesday.

Jones and other Louisiana panelists spoke at the Smart Growth Summit conference at the Manship Theatre during a session geared toward planning bike-friendly communities.

An earlier panelist, Bike Easy Executive Director Jamie Wine, who runs the bike advocacy nonprofit in New Orleans, said making cities more bike-friendly requires three kind of people: grassroots supporters, committed volunteers and funders.

Jones said the Baton Rouge group has focused on infrastructure and policy makers. It's received support from the Downtown Development District and Mayor Kip Holden, for example. But the nonprofit needs to build that “funnel” of supporters and funders to make the plans come to life and ensure what’s built is used.

“You have to hatch the chicken and the egg at the same time, here,” he said.

An attorney with the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office who volunteers with Bike Baton Rouge, Jones said the group has recently changed its message from previously perceived “us versus them,” model to a broader message, in order to attract more residents.

Instead of fighting to make cycling safer for those who already bike, the group has shifted its focus to argue bicycle infrastructure can be an asset to the city, even for those who don’t bike.

“We don’t exist to make this city the best city for bikers; we exist to make it a better city, period.”

The group's challenge to gaining support is the hurdle of residents' belief that making Baton Rouge bike-friendly can’t be done – that the city is “doomed by white flight,” he said. Too, he said, some residents can't imagine Baton Rouge becoming a safe place to bike.

Jones said when it started eight years ago, Bike Baton Rouge used to be called Baton Rouge Advocates for Safe Streets. Because the city proved dangerous for cyclists, their unofficial slogan was, "It takes BRASS to ride in Baton Rouge."

Baton Rouge needs only to look at the progress of bike lanes, bike paths and safety initiatives in New Orleans to see what can be accomplished.

“It’s 80 miles away, we have the same climate, same hurricanes, same crazy drivers,” he said. “We should work with them, and not just to steal their ideas.”

Jones said he understands people are busy, but, “We’ve got to do a better job; let people know that it is possible.”

For information about how to get involved with Bike Baton Rouge, visit the group's website or Facebook page.